1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connector, and particularly to a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector stably mounted onto a printed circuit board.
2. Description of the Related Art
A Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector is commonly used in computer systems and networks. FIG. 7 shows a conventional USB connector which comprises an insulative housing 5, a plurality of terminals 6 received in the insulative housing 5, and a first and second shielding shells 7,8 enclosing around the insulative housing 5. The insulative housing 5 comprises a base section 51 and a mating section 52 perpendicularly extending forward from the base section 51. The base section 51 has a pair of supporting portions 511 extending downward from a bottom thereof. The first shell 7 is formed by stamping a single piece of metal sheet and has two side panels 71 and a mating frame 70 covering the mating section 52 of the insulative housing 5. The mating frame 70 defines a board lock 711 and a supporting leg 712 respectively extending from a bottom panel 72 thereof. The second shell 8 has a pair of board locks 83 respectively extending downwardly from two sidewalls thereof. When the USB connector is mounted onto a printed circuit board (not shown), the supporting leg 712 of the first shell 7 and the supporting portions 511 of the insulative housing 5 both abut against the printed circuit board so as to support the connector on the printed circuit board. The board locks 711,83 are solderably received within corresponding holes of the circuit board, whereby the connector is fixed on the printed circuit board.
However, the board lock 711 and the supporting leg 712 are respectively formed by folding with a narrow connecting portion 713 therebetween, so the mechanical strength of the connecting portion 713 is weak. When a mating connector is inserted into or pulled out from the connector, inappropriate inserting and pulling force will cause deformation of the connecting portion 713, even breaking the connecting portion 713. This will cause the mating frame 70 to decline and thus will cause an unreliable engagement between the USB connector and the mating connector as well as affect the quality of signal transmission therebetween. Furthermore, the board lock 711 and the supporting leg 712 are separately made and the width of the supporting leg 712 is narrow, so the supporting portion 712 is easily broken during manufacturing operation, thus increasing the cost of manufacturing the connector.
Hence, an improved electrical connector is desired to overcome the disadvantages of the related art.
An object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector which can be securely retained on a printed circuit board, thereby ensuring a reliable engagement between the electrical connector and a mating connector.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector whose supporting leg is easy to make, and the supporting leg has a firm connection with a shell.
To achieve the above-mentioned objects, an electrical connector in accordance with the present invention comprises an insulative housing, a plurality of terminals, and a shielding shell enclosing around the insulative housing. The insulative housing comprises a base section, a mating section extending from the base section, a plurality of passageways extending through the mating section and the base section, a pair of supporting portions extending downwardly from a bottom wall of the base section. The terminals are received in the passageways of the insulative housing. Each terminal has a mating portion for electrically engaging with a mating connector and a tail portion extending out of the bottom wall of the base section for electrically connecting with a printed circuit board. A shielding shell includes a mating frame covering the mating section of the housing. The mating frame defines a T-shaped extension at a bottom panel thereof. The extension includes a supporting leg integrally connecting with the mating frame and a board lock integrally extending from the supporting portion. When the electrical connector is mounted onto the printed circuit board, the supporting portions of the insulative housing and the supporting leg of the extension both snugly abut against the circuit board for supporting the electrical connector, thereby the electrical connector is securely mounted on the printed circuit board.